1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to novel strains of lactic acid bacteria. The composition comprising of Lactobacillus acidophilus PM-A0002, Lactobacillus gasseri PM-A0005, Lactobacillus salivarius PM-A0006, Lactobacillus johnsonii PM-A0009 and Lactobacillus acidophilus PM-A0013 and their use for treating allergy related diseases.
2. Background
The recent increase in allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinitis has been, and continues to be, a serious social problem in many countries. There is a theory which implies that allergy and asthma have increased during the last 20 to 50 years because of a reduced exposure in childhood to bacterial and viral infections brought about by improvements in public health measures such as vaccination and sanitation. Allergic diseases are reported to be caused by a skew in the balance between T helper type 1 (Th1) and 2 (Th2) cells. Classical allergy is a type 2 hypersensitivity reaction mediated by the interaction of mast cells and eosinophils coated with allergen-specific IgE and a cross-lining allergen. Few lactic acid bacteria have been shown to stimulate Th1 related cytokines secretion, they have the potential to either prevent or ameliorate disease conditions or both.
The term probiotic is derived from the Greek and literally translates as ‘for-life’. It was first used by Lilly et al in 1965 (Lilly D M and Stillwell R H, 1965, Science, 14: 747-748). Probiotics are live microbial food supplements that can change either the composition and/or the metabolic activities of the microbiota or modulate immune system reactivity in a way that benefits health. Rarker described probiotics as “organisms and their secreted substances which contribute to an intestinal microbial balance.” A recent detailed definition of probiotics is “a preparation of or a product containing viable, defined microorganisms in sufficient numbers to alter the existing microflora (by displacement or colonization) in the intestine of the host and thereby exert beneficial health effects (Schrezenmeir J, de Vrese M, 2001, Am J Clin Nutr, 73: 361S-364S). Probiotics are now commonly available over the counter and in the chiller cabinet of every supermarket as bio-yoghurts, probiotic drinks or food supplements. Few different microorganisms have been used as probiotics, the most common being the lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria are members of the commensal microflora of a healthy human colon. They can be found on food particles in the lumen of the gut and in the mucus overlying the epithelial cell barrier, putting them in very close proximity to the human host (Macfarlanc S, Furrie E, Cummings J H and Macfarlanc G T, 2004, Clinical Infectious Diseases, 38: 1690-1699). The possible function of probiotics are varied and include the production and secretion of antimicrobial substances, a stimulus to the host's immune responses, and displacement of pathogen colonization. They provide health benefits to the host by stimulating metabolic activities or by protecting against conditions such as intestinal infection, food allergies, and colon cancer.
Otherwise, the current state of evidence suggests that probiotic effects are strain specific. Strain identity is important to link a strain to a specific health effect as well as to enable accurate surveillance and epidemiological studies. So we must use in vitro tests that to screen potential probiotic strains. In vitro tests are useful to gain knowledge of strains and the mechanism of the probiotic effect. However, it was noted that the currently available tests are not fully adequate to predict the functionality of probiotic microorganisms in the human body. It was also noted that in vitro data available for particular strains are not sufficient for describing them as probiotic. Probiotics for human use will require substantiation of efficacy with human trials. Appropriate target-specific in vitro tests that correlate with in vivo results are recommended. For example, in vitro bile salts resistance was shown to correlate with gastric survival in vivo. The seven points of the main currently used in vitro tests for the study of probiotic strains are first is resistance to gastric acidity, second is bile acid resistance, third is adherence to mucus and/or human epithelial cells and cell lines, forth is antimicrobial activity against potentially pathogenic bacteria, fifth is ability to reduce pathogen adhesion to surfaces, sixth is bile salt hydrolase activity, seventh is resistance to spermicides (Guidelines for the evaluation of probiotics in food; Report of joint FAO/WHO working group on drafting guidelines for the evaluation of probiotics in food; London Ontario, Canada April 30 and May 1, 2002).
Allergic children in Estonia and Sweden were found to be less often colonized with lactobacilli compared with nonallergic children (Björksten B, Naaber P, Sepp E and Mikelsaar M, 1999, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 29: 342-346).
Lactobacilli are thought to induce Th1 reaction and improve allergic diseases (Cross M L, Stevenson L M and Gill H S, 2001, International Immunopharmacology, 1: 891-901).
Furthermore, orally administered heat-treated Lactobacillus casei (strain Shirota) was found to inhibit IgE production induced by ovalbumin in mice serum (Matsuzaki T, Yamazaki R, Hashimoto S and Yokokura T, 1998, Journal Dairy Science, 81: 48-53).
Moreover, intraperitoneally injected heat-treated Lactobacillus plantarum L-137 was demonstrated to suppress IgE production in response to a casein allergy in mice (Murosaki S, Yamamoto Y, Ito K, Inokuchi T, Kusaka H, Ikeda H and Yoshikai Y, 1998, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol, 102: 57-64).
Oral administration of lysed Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 resulted in a decrease of peritoneal accumulation of eosinophils induced by ragweed pollen (Shimada T, Cheng L, Ide M, Fukuda S, Enomoto T, Shirakawa T, 2003, Clin Exp Allergy, 33: 684-687).
In humans, Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG administered in the perinatal period reduced the incidence of atopic eczema in children at risk during the first 2 years of life (Kalliomäki M, Salminen S, Arvilommi H, Kero P, Koskinen P and Isolauri E, 2001, Lancet 357: 1076-1079) and beyond infancy (Kalliomäki M, Salminen S, Poussa T, Aivilommi H and Isolauri E, 2003, Lancet 361: 1869-1871).
Lactobacillus rhamnosus 19070-2 and Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 122460 improved moderately the clinical severity of eczema in children with atopic dermatitis (Rosenfeldt V; Benfeldt E, Nielsen S D, Michaelsen K F, Jeppesen D L, Valerius N H and. Paerregaard A, 2003, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 111:389-395).